Michigan in Perspective: The Local History Conference

Livonia – The 55th Annual Michigan in Perspective: The Local History Conference will be held March 22-23, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Detroit—Livonia Conference Center in Livonia. The conference is one of the Historical Society of Michigan’s four major history conferences. Lead sponsors of the event include Meijer, Inc. and the Detroit Historical Society.
Organized by the Michigan in Perspective Planning Committee, the conference will feature several keynote speakers and breakout sessions focused on local history in Michigan. Daniel Howes of The Detroit News will present the opening keynote They ‘Let Detroit Go Bankrupt’: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in the Auto Bailout. Other keynotes include Newspapers: Surviving the Digital Age with Paul Keep, the executive editor of print publications at MLive Media Group; The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Lake Erie: the Untold Stories with Blanca Alvarez Stransky, Superintendent of Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial; and Among the Enemy: A Michigan Soldier’s Civil War Journal with author Mark Hoffman.

To see the full conference flier or to register online, click here.

Breakout sessions will cover topics such as local history, genealogy, and cultural diversity. They include:

• Vernors Ginger Ale: Detroit’s Drink
• Downtown Detroit’s Magnificent Movie Palaces
• Confronting the Legacy of the Mount Pleasant Indian Industrial Boarding School
• The March on Woodward: Remember 50 Years On
• Detroit’s Delectable Past: Much Ado about Mutton
• Justus S. Stearns: Ludington’s First Citizen
• Slavery in Michigan
• Social Networking for Genealogy: How to Use Social Media in Your Family History Research
• Livonia Way Back When
• Breaking the Color Barrier: African Americans in the Labor Movement
• Expanding Audiences at the Arab American National Museum
• The Underground Railroad in Southwest Michigan
• Rochester Main Street Then and Now
• Marking the 250th Anniversary of Pontiac’s Uprising
• Museum Renovations from Top to Bottom
• Getting Published in Michigan History Magazine
• The Story of the Steamer Key Stone State
• Board Diversity: Why You Need It and How to Get It
• Preserving Church History: Creating & Maintaining Archives
• Michigan’s Historic Railroad Stations
• African American Aviators: The Michigan Connections
• Book discussions of “Revolution Detroit: Strategies for Urban Reinvention” by author John Gallagher
• Book discussion of “Detroit: Race Riots, Racial Conflicts, and Efforts to Bridge the Racial Divide” by authors Joe T. Darden and Richard Thomas
• Book discussion of “The Boy Governor: Biography of Stevens T. Mason” by author Don Faber

Open to anyone interested in state or regional history, registration for the two-day event is only $39 ($49 after March 13). Meals that feature keynote speakers, including lunch on both days and breakfast on Saturday, are available by reservation on a space-available basis. The luncheons are $22 per ticket, and the Saturday breakfast is $17 per ticket. Register online or by calling (800) 692-1828.

The first day of the conference will close with a Friday evening reception at the Plymouth Historical Museum. The reception is free for all registered conference attendees, but tickets are required and can be secured during the conference registration process.

In addition to our lead sponsors, the conference’s other major sponsors are the Detroit Public Library, Michigan State University Press, University of Michigan Press, Walter P. Reuther Library, and Wayne State University Press.The Local History Conference is also supported by the Algonquin Club of Detroit & Windsor, Bentley Historical Library, Center for Upper Peninsula Studies at Northern Michigan University, Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, Inc., Fred Hart Williams Genealogical Society, Great Lakes Maritime Institute, Historical Society for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Jewish Historical Society of Michigan, Michigan Genealogical Council, Michigan Roundtable for Diversity & Inclusion, Michigan Women’s Historical Center and Hall of Fame, Oakland County Historical Commission, Plymouth Historical Museum, Troy Historical Society, and William L. Clements Library.

Members and friends of the Society will receive a printed copy of the conference flier on or around February 1, 2013. A digital version can also be found online.